Demonstrators took to the streets of Kiev on Thursday, to demand the release of Ukrainians currently held prisoner in the disputed eastern territories of Eastern Ukraine, in Lugansk and Donetsk, as well as in the Russian Federation.

Demonstrators could be seen marching through the city, with some wearing hoods and with their hands bound imitating prisoners, before carrying out a mock execution.

Anatolii Polyakov, head of the Ukrainian Association of Prisoners, explained the grounds for the demonstration:

""Today our servicemen are without rights, they are not protected because we still have not declared war with Russia. Every day our boys are killed, but legally we do not have a war. And therefore our servicemen who are in ORDLO [Separate districts of Donetsk and Lugansk regions] are not subject to the international convention on the protection of the rights of prisoners of war," he said.